NBA Finals – Dallas Maligned in Game 1 Loss to Miami

It’s bad enough to lose the first game in the NBA Finals. Especially waiting five years to get back to this stage.

it is even worse to be maligned for losing when not deserved.

The Dallas Mavericks did, indeed, lose to the Miami Heat in game one of the NBA Finals. No doubt about it. Final score: Heat 92 Mavs 84.

Reading what some reporters and bloggers have written makes it seem as if Dallas could do nothing right – yet an 8 point loss is not a blow out by any means, especially when one is in the enemy camp, i.e., playing on your opponent’s court. You know, the ole home court advantage thing.

As far as stats are concerned, Dallas shot 37% from the field, Miami hit 39%. Neither of those are very impressive.

From downtown the Heat were at 46% while Dallas shot 41%, a difference of 6 points in favor of the Heat. The Mavs held the edge at the free throw line hitting 78% to the Heat’s 71% for a 6 point advantage. They effectively cancelled each other out.

Offensively, Miami took 80 shots to Dallas’ 67. That was a huge help for the Heat. And Miami did dominate the boards, 46 to 36, which is what gave them, to a fairly large degree, the winning edge.

Yes, Miami won, mostly due to their better defense and the offensive board advantage they took.

To read the headlines, one would think Dallas did absolutely nothing right. Yes, LeBron and Wade made some big, key plays in the 4th quarter. And those two can be dominating, but they did not “dominate” this first game. And then consider that two of Miami’s starters failed to score a single point.

Sweet slam by LeBron.One article that appeared in Yahoo! Sports mentioned that it would be tough for Dallas and their one star to beat Miami and their three stars, meaning Dirk beating LeBron, D-Wade and Bosh. Apparently that reporter does not consider Jason Kidd a threat, despite the fact he is a 10-time All Star and is in 3rd place all-time for triple-doubles. Go figure.

True, everyone has, and is entitled to, their own opinion. This blogger’s opinion is that Miami won, Dallas lost. Miami played better at the right times, especially down the stretch. Neither team played close to a perfect game.